Under the Mask
by xxlalax
Summary: She had changed, she was skilled. For him this was routine. But when both of them happen to be on the same missions, there is bound to be some complications. Because when the heart is involved, there are no rules, no boundaries. And maybe, it could be just worth it, to risk it all. KakaSaku Rated M for language and future hot scenes *.*
1. Chapter 1 - same old

The bed curved slightly under her light weight. It had been a long day. After a sleepless night she had to get up at 5 in the morning to prepare for a long tedious day at the hospital. Her shisou had been extremely busy this week and obviously, all of the blond's patients had been dutifully dumped on Sakura.

She sighed and groaned inwardly. Why the heck did they do this to her? Albeit having finished her 13 hour shift, and having to put up with some people who expected her to do magic rather than jutsu to cure them, she had received a call.

Probably a new mission, she decided. It had been quite a while since Sakura had been sent out on a mission.

She was valuable in her position at the hospital. She was the Hokage's Apprentice after all! The only one who had almost equaled the Fifth in her medical abilities. And she wouldn't have it any other way! She loved her work: with all its' quirks and tight schedule that came packaged with it.

Not that it changed anything. She didn't have much of a social life anyway...

Tsunade had thought her everything she knew about the medical field, and ever since that day Sakura had found herself immersed in the new wonders of Medicine. Some would have considered it an obsession, but to her, everyday, every patient she managed to cure, it was just one small miracle. So obviously, it was only natural that she delved in her work and spent almost every waking hour doing just that, rather than doing what other 20 year olds should be doing.

And that was usually the thing she and Ino fought about everytime she came over to check whether her dear old Forehead hadn't gotten rotten, alone in her apartament. It was annoying really. She went on about it like a broken record. "You really need to find yourself a boyfriend Sakura! You are not getting any younger and all you ever do it work and hide alone in your apartment! You are getting quite creepy!", Ino would usually whine. "Oh come on Ino! There will be times for boyfriends and all. I just haven't found the right one yet." And then Ino would flip her long, annoyingly gorgeous hair and say, "well you won't really find him, cooped up in here, or at the hospital! All you will ever get will be some fat, ugly ninja, who couldn't escape a shurinken to save his life, hence the patching up. Or the postman in any case."

Sakura loved Ino. She really did, but sometimes she could be really annoying. Especially when she was right...

Maybe she should start going out more often..

Sometimes even Naruto complained that he didn't see her around anymore. And that was saying something, as ever since Sasuke came back, the two had become inseparable, and sometimes she had gottenherself to wonder whether he did notice anything or anyone else around him except his precious Raven haired friend.

And maybe that was another reason why Sakura found herself stuck at the hospital. She just couldn't bring herself to be third wheel anymore. Ever since Sasuke had left, she had grown into a strong, indipendant women, and she had realised that she didn't need Sasuke, or any men for that matter, to validate her worth.

From the corner of her eye, she looked at the photo on her bedside of Team 7 and she smiled. Everything had been so different back them. Everything was so simple. The highlight of her days had been seeing Sasuke and her saddest moments had been when he ignored her - which was practically all the time. When she thought back it was funny really. She could remember it as if it had been yesterday. Sakura would try to get closer to Sasuke, and the latter was as indifferent to her as ever, while Naruto would start challenging Sasuke over Sakura. And poor old Kakashi-sensei had to put up with them. It must have been quite a feat!

But now everything had changed. They were not kids anymore. Sasuke had hurt her, but in a way she was was thanks to him that she had managed to pick up the pieces he left behind, and motivate herself to work harder. And it was that motivation who had made her who she was now. And it was thanks to the emptiness that he left behind, that she managed to nurture a new kinship with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, making them her second family - or her only one really. She had realised not long ago that genetics doesn't necessarily imply family.

She looked at the time and realised she was late for the meeting. Oh well.

She sat up, and went to the cabinet on the other side of the room. She opened the first drawer and looked down at the mask that had become her identity over the past few months. The white, animal shaped mask that hid her so well from the rest of the world.

She went ahead to put it on, and it instantaneously had the desired effect. She wasn't Sakura anymore. She was just another ANBU agent. A tool of Kohona. And with that, she climbed out the window, and ran along the dark streets to the secret quarters.

* * *

**_Heyy there :) This is my first story ever so I hope it met your expectations. It is a bit slow considering that it is the first chapter and the plot is yet to be revealed. I will try to keep regular updates! much love =] and Review please_**


	2. Chapter 2 - Her mission

Morino Ibiki looked up at the ANBU agent in front of him. "You're late", he growled. The ANBU remained as passive as she had been ever since she came in.  
Or rather, any sign of emotion was carefully hidden away under that flawless mask. He sighed and passed a scroll to the agent. "This will be your next mission.

I know you haven't been in a mission for quite a while, but you were chosen by the board as being the most suitable for the task." The ANBU silently accepted it and resumed her previous stance. Had it not been Ibiki - the stone cold man himself- it would have been quite unnerving, the way the ninja in fromt of him remained impassive and lifeless, like a statue without a purpose. "Go through the details and you are to report back here, tomorrow at this time." She silently nodded and left just as quietly as she had come int.

Ibiki had seen his fair share of genin who grew up and becoming elite shinobi during his carrier. The change was especially obvious for him since he was the one involved in the Chuunin exams. It was quite easy to a observe change when you compared the skill of a jonin to that of a pious genin who could cry more than they could fight. Yet, he was still to see such a drastic change in a ninja, as he had seen in Haruno Sakura.

He knew it had been her under that mask. Not a lot of Shinobi wore their hair pink under that mask after all. When she first joined ANBU, he wasn't sure whether she had been ready, and he was willing to bet his little finger, that the main reason they accepted her was because of her title as Tsunade's apprentice. That old bat really knew how to pull strings to get her own way. But how wrong had he been!  
He could now safely say that she was one of the elitist ninja on Konoha. He smiled. The will of fire was being passed on to the younger generation...

A knock came on the door and a young chuunin walk in, "Ibiki-san, Inochi-sama has been looking for you". Ibiki frowned. That could only mean more work. "Tell him I'll be there soon."

Sakura left the room and swiftly walked out of the headquarters. Without a second thought she removed her mask and took a deep breath of the chill March evening.  
Although she had kept her cool in front of Ibiki, she had been unsurprisingly scared shitless. No matter how much older she got or how strong she had become, it would be the day that hell froze over when she would not be scared or uncomfortable in Ibiki's presence.

"You know, there is not much point of a mask if you take it off as soon as you leave the building". Sakura turned towards the direction of that familiar voice and sure enough there he was, perched comfortably on a tree branch, unsurprisingly clutching on the infamous orange book. "Hello to you too Kakashi-sensei"

He just stared at her through his lone eye and if she hadn't gotten used to it, she would have been pretty creeped out. "Nothing else to do than being nosey sensei?" she muttered.

"Oh you know, I always take a special interest when it comes to our Cherry Blossom", he smiled. Sakura had always liked the way that her sensei smiled. Some would call it creepy the way she memorized detail, but it was those little things of the people she cared about that made her miss them the most when they where not around. She smiled inwardly, but she wouldn't let him get away with callin her THAT.  
"I always tell you not to call me that Kakashi-sensei", she fumed. It was just a scene really. She secretly liked when he called her like that. It always felt nice when Kakashi made up endearing names for her. It made her feel special. Gracefully, like a cat (which was ironic really seeing as he was a dog person), he jumped from the tree branch on the ground next to Sakura. He reached out for her and ruffled her hair, making her feel like a child all over again.

How the hell did he manage to do that? Making her feel all gooey, happy, and bat shit angry at the same time? This man was really an enigma. Inner Sakura found the opportunity to take over. It really didn't take much really - Sakura and her inner self had developed a mutual understanding for each other and reached a new level of bonding as far as her Bipolar identity went.  
"Just look at the man!", inner Sakura yelled. "He ticks all the right boxes. Hog him you idiot girl before some other girl makes a move! He won't be a bachlor much longer with that ass of his". "If only he wasn't so lazy, and so perverted, and 12 years older, and of course MY sensei ever since I have been 12 years old!" Sakura responded back to herself.

She rather liked Kakashi. After all he and Naruto had been the closest people she had had when she had went through the lonliest time of her life. That is why any romantic feelings towards her sensei were plain wrong! It was like oogling your older brother's derrier! She sighed and wondered how further low she could stoop.

"Sakura? Are you having perverted thoughts of Sasuke again?" Kakashi teased. The gradual creeping of her blush made him laugh hard as he started walking away.

"Wait! Sensei! I was not!" she yelled as he walked away from her with his characteristic lazy gait. He look back at her and gave her a mocking salute. And there was only so much teasing she could endure... "I was not having perverted thoughts of Sasuke!"  
she yelled.

She realised her mistake as people started staring at her. She blushed harder and decided to head back home while silently fuming at the nerve of her perverted sensei and his ability to make her embarassed all the time! But really, she was angry at herself, because she had practically walked in on this one.

* * *

As soon as she got home, Sakura turned on the kettle and prepared herself a steaming cup of hot coffee, just the way she liked it, black with no sugar. It had been a long day but she intended to finish this business firt. SO she needed as much the caffeine as she could get. She took a sip and the bitter drink, gave her the desired kick she sought. She settled comfortably in her old sofa in the living room, clutching to her steaming cup, and carefully, as if it was the most precious of silk, she opened the scroll that had been delivered to her earlier by Ibiki.

Silently the pink haired girl scanned the written instructions carefully and scrutinized every letter, until the perfectionist side of  
Haruno Sakura had been satisfied.

_Date of dispatch: 24th March_  
_Place: Rain country_  
_Status: S class_  
_Party : n/a_

Sakura frowned and reached out to take another sip of her coffee. She really should have prepared a whole damned bottle of the drink...  
Although it was not the first time that she had to carry out a solo, S class mission, it had never been on such short notice. She had to had to prepare for her departure in 3 days and it was no easy task. Especially since she had to juggle patients and paper work. She sighed and defied, she accepted the fact that if she was lucky, she might be able to get a good 6 hour sleep before departing, Tsunade-permitting. She continued reading the scroll once more..

_On arrival, check in at the host's quarters and identify yourself as Hanami Monomiya. You shall be assigned a room to stay during your stay. Map co-ordinates N 37 degrees 43.69, __W 97 degrees 28.39. Your goal is to identify the agent involved in an exchange of Secret stolen jutsus. _  
_Current information on the agent: none. Any suspect behaviour should be considered. Once the target is identified, extract information on the whereabouts of the exchange. Discretion is of utmost importance and Konoha's involvement must not be revealed. _  
_More information will be given soon. Report back to the Hokage tomorrow at 9am._

All the information kept being repeated over and over again in Sakura's head. She had to infiltrate a criminal's house solo and extract information. She frowned. It rather seemed like a wild goose chase to her. Hopefully Tsunade would provide more details tomorrow. She hastily rose from the sofa and stretched her arms lazily. "And here comes the best time of the whole day!" she grinned, as she made her

way towards her bedroom.

* * *

Sorry for the delay guys! :O I had a problem with my laptop and I couldn't upload it. Plus im having my exams this month so i a bit busy =]

Sooo what do you think? Review please :D


	3. Chapter 3 - His Mission

He lazily walked down the familiar streets. He knew Konoha like the back of his hand. It was his home, his life. All his friends and those he considered family were there in that very village, which he would give his life to protect.

He stopped in front of the ANBU quarters and using his chakra, he climbed up a tree which was proudly rooted in the middle of the square. He always loved a quite place where he could enjoy reading his beloved books. Most people labelled him a pervert because of the old Sannin's impeccable descriptions of the characters and their sexual escapades, which, mostly, took about three quarters of the book. And he was not going to try to deny that sex was not one of the reasons why he read Icha Icha. He was a man after all!

As a principle, he always tried to switch around between the places where he spent his spare time. He didn't want to be easy to find. He liked to enjoy his peace from time to time. And this spot had been serving him well for the past few days. He sat down comfortably, safely tucked away from prying eyes under the massive foliage. He loved nature! It smelled nice, felt nice and could provide to his necessities quite nicely – although along the years he had learnt that it not take much to satisfy Hatake Kakashi.

_He looked down at her. Even with a mask covering up most of her face... she was beautiful. Like a deity who had been descended on Earth by mistake. Her silver hair flowing past her shoulders and her luscious body could make any man bow down at her feet. He could not do anything but give in! He was a mere human after all. A man of many skills but limited in things that went beyond his capabilities. His eyes stripped her naked and his hands complied to the very action. Every caress was appreciated by a soft moan of the goddess beneath him. He reached up towards her face and slowly removed her mask, relishing the moment when she was exposed to him. She sighed._

She sighed and removed her mask. Kakashi looked up and saw his pink hair student coming out of the ANBU quarters. He smiled at the uncanny similarities to his book. "You know, there is not much point of a mask if you take it off as soon as you leave the building", he pointed out. He loved making her angry. It was always so fascinating to see what kind of reaction he could get out of her.

She looked around and finally spotted him in the tree. "Nothing else to do than being nosey sensei ?" she retorted.

"Well I always take a special interest in our Cherry Blossom." And that was not far from the truth. Since she was the only female in the group, it was only natural that he and Naruto had developed a protective attire towards her. She seemed lost in thought. And he decided, that that was his cue. He silently stepped down from the tree : his location has been compromised anyway.

"Sakura? Are you having perverted thoughts of Sasuke again?" Saying that had been a risk which could get him killed, but it was worth it to see her face change a million and one shade of red. "I was not!" and indeed, as predicted, she blushed. He was always amazed by her ability to change personality from one second to the next. It was like she was two persons in one! On a whim, he started walking away from her – he was sure that she would become a health hazard in the next few minutes after his words sank in. And indeed, as he walked away, she started yelling. "I was not having perverted thoughts sensei!" Kakashi smiled and waved back. She clearly had forgotten that other people were there aswell, he thought. But apparently, she had realised this, albeit too late, because she immediately shut up and hurriedly walked away.

* * *

He looked at the watch at the entrance of the Hokage Tower as he made his way in. Just in time for his meeting with the Godaime. He way only an hour late, which was good time for him. As soon as he arrived at the last floor, he made his way towards her office.

On entering the waiting room, Shizune looked up from the pile of paper work on her desk, in which she seemed she was drowning, and frowned. "About time! You were expected here an hour ago! Thank your lucky stars that she is stuck at a meeting. Because in the mood she's in, I might have booked you a room in the hospital in advance."

As if on cue, some ninja Kakashi barely knew filed our of the Hokage's office, and Shizune immediately rose from her seat to inform Tsunade of Kakashi's presence. Within seconds she was out again. "You may go in. Good luck", Shizune warned.  
Kakashi walked in and closed the door behind him.

"I will just pretend that you were here on time and that you have been waiting for me since an hour ago. Yes?" Without giving him a chance to come up with a witty response, she opened the last drawer and took out a half empty bottle of sake, together with two cups. "Drink with me", she ordered.

He made his way to her desk, sat down and silently accepted her offer. He was not much of a drinker; he rather liked to be alert and in control of his surroundings. But that didn't mean that he did not enjoy the regular cup, especially, when it was free.

After a couple of comfortably silent minutes, Kakashi spoke up. "You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Tsunade stared at him and frowned, as if trying to remember why she had asked to see him. "Oh! Yes of course". She put the sake bottle and the cup aside and took out a scroll from the second drawer of her desk. He slid it over to him across the table. "Here. This shall be your next mission", she explained. "It is a solo S rank mission. Some organization in the Rain are organizing an exchange for some illegal jutsu. You have to infiltrate their base, locate them, and terminate their operation... the details are in the scroll. You shall depart early tomorrow morning." Her carefree, slightly drunk attire made the whole operation look so simple. But these things always had a habit of dragging out.

Kakashi stared at the scroll, then at the clock on the wall with both its hands pointing at the number 12, and then blinked twice and stared at her as if she was bat shit insane. "But that gives me less than 6 hours to get ready Hogake-sama.

She waved her hand dismissively and laughed as if he was joking. "Oh you will manage!" She grabbed her cup of sake once more. "Now get out of my sight cause I have some paperwork I need to finish!"

Kakashi got up silently, and bowed to her. He didn't even notice Shizune wishing him a good night. He was deep in thought, contemplating on what the hell he should start to work on. He sighed. It was going to be a long night...

* * *

Thankyou for reading! and sorry for the delay. I am currently being held up due to my exams! Hopefully they will be soon over and done with. Please do review. I would appreciate your feedback about my writing and the story in itself - so I can improve and make it better :)

Looking forward to hear from you


	4. Chapter 4 - The Transformation

His chiselled body on top of her, followed her every movement, as she panted and writhed underneath him. He knew where to kiss, where to touch, how to turn her on. He knew her like no one else did. She grabbed at his dishevelled hair. Their sweaty bodies moving against each other in fluid movements. He kissed her neck, his hands ghosting along the contours of her voluptuous body. She panted. He moved lower. She gasped. His mouth indulged her needy body as he sucked on her nipple. This was incredible. How could he do this to her? …. He... who was he?

She looked up and all she could see was a faceless man. His face was covered in darkness. She was confused. His face was a mystery, shrouded in darkness and a hint of excitement. She wanted to call out, but all of her senses were in overdrive. And all she could hear was an annoying bell. "Bell? Why is a bell ringing?", she asked.

She woke up startled. It took her a minute or two to orient herself and come back to her senses. She realized there was someone at the door. With a groan she crawled her way towards the source of her throbbing headache. "I'm comiiinnnngg!", she yelled! "Just wait one fucking minute! Do you even know what time it is?". Well technically, she didn't either...

She should have known. Who else would come banging at her door almost as savagely as a hundred elephants tumbling on it? "What do you want Naruto?".

"Geez. Good morning to you too Sakura.", Naruto pouted as he sidestepped her, and entered into her living room, making himself immediately at home. He lounged on her sofa and simply stared at her. Having just woken up, and not yet having the time to make herself feel human again, Sakura was quite self concious. "Well what did you want?",she snapped. Naruto sighed. "Team Gai just came back from a mission and they invited us all for Barbecue. Are you game?"

Sakura relaxed. The poor guy was here, acting nice and inviting her out, and she was being quite the arse. "Yeah sure", she smiled. "What time?"

Naruto's face lit up. "That's great! Everyone will be there. We will meet at eight tonight. So you will be my date?" He nearly choked on his own words. Either because he was talking too fast or because of Sakura's punch directed at his gut. "Don't push your luck!" She put up a pissed off façade, but she secretly smiled. Naruto's open affection for her was no news and it had almost become their own little game.

"Well off you go Naruto, cause I have a meeting with Shishou at 9am and I don't want to be late or she'll kill me." But instead Naruto just looked at her as if she had grown a pair of horns on her head. "Ummmmmmm, Sakura- san... it's already 11am..."

Sakura gulped and looked at the small clock on the kitchen counter. "Holy shit! GET OUT! OH MY GOD SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME."

She threw Naruto out the front door [literally], while trying to decide how she was going to come up with a good excuse to save her life [or more accurately, avoid the goddamn desk being thrown at her head].

* * *

She smoothed her hair as she knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. …No response...

She nervously looked at her watch. It was 11:30am. She had tried to be as quick as possible. It had never happened before. Maybe that could save her?

"Come in!"

Shit. She knew that tone all too well. She was in deep shit. Buried underneath a heavy load of pure faeces. She gingerly opened the heavy oak door and walked in the door like a cat with a tail between her legs. "Um...good afternoon Shishou?"

She rather hated when Tsunade decided to opt for the silent scrutiny. It was unnerving. Especially as she didn't know what was going through the older woman's head. And that could be dangerous. Very dangerous indeed...

"I don't know what that good for nothing teacher of yours has been teaching you, but if this is the kind of behaviour he's influencing you with..."

The threat remained hanging between them. Her scowling face and the eerie silence did little to improve the situation of Sakura's nerves.

Tsunade banged hard on the desk. There goes, Sakura thought. She gulped.

"Do you think just because you are the Hokage's apprentice you can do as you like? Well then think again young lady! You can't go around changing my schedule according to what's convenient for you." She grabbed the stapler and threw it against the wall, making Sakura jump an inch from the floor. "When I give you a time, I expect you to be here two hours before if need be! Not two hours later. This is unacceptable! And for that, you shall be punished."

"B-but Shishou!" Sakura tried to protest. Tsunade glared at her, making her instantly shut up. She sat back down and looked Sakura in the eye. "I'm hoping that there is a genuine cause. That your pussy got lost or you finally found yourself a decent man to take in bed last night."

At that last comment Sakura turned beet red, matching the colour of her shirt perfectly. Images from the previous night's dream immediately littered her memory. She had been so busy this morning, that she had completely forgotten about it. Her reaction did not go unnoticed on the older woman and she chuckled softly.

Sakura immediately realised her mistake. "N-no! No that's not it Tsunade-sama. What happened is that I had been working late recently and I was not getting enough sleep and I was tired and I must not have heard my alarm clock and I overslept and I am so sorry, it won't happen again."

She blurted her excuse in seconds, and only stopping from her rant to take a few gulps of oxygen which were well appreciated by her lungs.

Tsunade laughed a bit louder. "Well, considering that this is the first time that ever happened, I will go easy on your punishment." Tsunade leaned closer to Sakura and reduced her voice to a whisper. "Just tell me where Shizune is hiding my bottle of sake."

"Whhaat? But I can't do that! She'll kill me Shishou!"

"Well then just compare what she'll do to you with what I can and WILL do to you. Your call." Tsunade smiled a sickly sweet smile as she said this, making Sakura feel disgusted at the older woman's blatant abuse of power. She sighed. "At least you'll say nice things at my funeral, yes? …. It's in a hole in the wall behind the photocopier."

Tsunade's face lit up, like a child on Christmas day who had just been given a new bike.

"You're a good child Sakura. Now sit down cause we have some serious issues to discuss."

Oh yeah, Sakura had almost forgotten why she had gotten here in the first place. She sat down without uttering another word. Tsunade proceeded to grab a stack of paper from her desk and passed them forward to her apprentice.

"We have received news that an underground society has been collecting Forbidden jutsus from all around the Wind country, but recently they have been moving closer and closer towards the Fire country, hence making them our concern."

Sakura sheaved through the pile of paper in front of her. Indeed there was a tracking list of where this organisation had been recently operating.

"Unfortunately we do not know much about them. They could be a bunch of idiots, but they could be very powerful. We are assuming the latter, seeing as no one has as yet managed to get any information on them. That is why we need an elite", Tsunade explained.

Sakura almost burst with pride. It was always nice when she was recognized as one of her village's best, especially by her Shishou.

"Our informant has advised us that one person from their organisation will be present in the Rain Country next week, for one of their exchanges. This will take place at a reception in a local villa. The village you shall be going to are currently going through their Carnival celebrations and it is custom there that the rich organize a masked ball for three consecutive days. Everyone's identity is a mystery and only on the third day can one's identity be revealed. As you can see, that is the perfect opportunity for our targets to lie undetected.

You shall go there as one of the guests and be our eyes and ears. Any misplaced or suspicious behaviour is to be noted and reported."

This was going to be an interesting mission, Sakura decided. She had never been to a masquerade ball before and she was already feeling a tad excited about it. She felt a bit guilty of her misplaced excitement. This was a very unprofessional behaviour of her.

"But, since on your last mission, you had to go and place yourself in the bingo books, we can't have you go like that." Tsunade continued.

"Like what?" Sakura demanded. She was really starting to feel self concious today.

"Well that pink hair of yours is not really a good disguise now is it. We might as well place a name tag on you with Konoha's name written in the bottom." the blonde muttered sarcastically.

"Well, there's not much I can do about it." Sakura whispered apologetically.

Tsunade beamed. "Oh don't worry! Luckily for you we have some specialised people who will make you unrecognisable for this mission. All it will take is some hair colour and make up." The younger girl looked horrified. She had rather grown fond of her pink her and never had she ever had the wildest, flitting idea of dying it! But there was little arguing one could do when her master had made up her mind.

Tsunade called for Shizune. Apparently she already knew of the illegal plan that was to be carried out on her hair, as she simply asked Sakura to follow her, without any need for Tsunade to explain.

Shizune chatted all the way down the stairs and out of the Hokage tower, while Sakura listened to her blabbering in utter defeat. She had had all life sucked of her already today, and dear Lord, it was only midday. She prayed the day would not get much worse...


End file.
